Grape Harvest Festival in Mendoza

History of the Festival

The origins of the Grape Harvest Festival date back to the year 1936, when engineer Frank Romero Day, the then Minister of Industry and Public Works in Mendoza, passed a decree. From then on, the tradition of the future harvest became a social and national fact.

Thus, this act gave origin to the legitimacy adopted by the Grape Harvest in the agenda of Mendoza and later on in the national agenda, turning this effort of men and women into one of the most important popular festivities in our country.

History goes that the celebrations began at the gates of General San Martín Park and that they were so important that Dr. Miguel Ángel Cárcano, the then Minister of Agriculture of the Nation attended the event.

A carousel, a banquet in a winery and a tour along San Martín Avenue were the starter for the evening, when over 25 thousand viewers got together at the field of Gimnasia y Esgrima Club, where the first main act in this festival was held.

Delia Larrive Escudero, from the District of Godoy Cruz, was the first sovereign of the festival that awards not only beauty but also the grace and freshness of each contestant.

They Were Harvesters in the Past The harvest and the celebrations were held inside the wineries. The most beautiful girl among the harvesters was chosen. Of course all participants were the same girls who harvested the grapes. Today, the beauty contest has changed and none of the girls is a harvester. However, each of them is proud to represent with their image the thousands of anonymous girls who keep harvesting the grapes.